Car-door operating and controlling mechanism.



G C. CHEHBONNIER, CAR uooR OPERATING AND coNTRoLUNG MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILE? FEB. I. RSU.

G. C. CHERBONNIER. me DOOR OPERATING AND CONTROLLING MECHANISM.

APPLlCATlON FILED FEB. M1917.

1,244,699, Patented oct. 30,191.7.

george C Cher'wzfzzr'ez UNITEDA sTATEs PATENT oFEicE.

GEORGE C. OHERBONNIEB, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOB T .AMERICAN CAB AND IOUNDBY COMPANY, 0F ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OI CAB-DOOR OPERATING AND CONTBOLLING MECHANISM.

Specication ot Letters Patent.

Patent-,ca oct. 3o, 191%.y

Application nled February 1, 1917. Serial No; 145,879.

not limited to the exact details of construcl tion shown` and described, and it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within-` the scope of the claims, will occur topersons skilled in the art.

In saidd-rawings: Figure 1 is a. side elevation of an end portion ofa railway car, showing one of a number of dumping doors, a shaft for controlling the position of the doors, means con- `necting the doors to the shaft and shaft o erating and controlling mechanism in e ge view, the same being appliedto the `-end of the car;

. per and one of the doors, the o erating and- .l scale showing ,mechanism in Fig. 2` is a somewhat enlarged view show.- ing a portion of the car in en d elevation and a portion in section to `disclose the hop- ',controlling mechanism being s own in elevation and as attached to the Vend of the car- ` Fig. 3 is a view on a considerably larger the operating and controlling tached to the end .of the ear;

Fig. 4 is a view of the operating andcontrolling mechanism most of which is shown in edge view and as applied to the end sill ofthe ear; and

Fi 5 is a view similarto Fi 3 4but `showin-g the controlling portion oft emechanism in active coperation of the ratchet wheel carried by the winding shaft.

The present invention relates to shaft o perating and controlling mechanism vand itsy especial-.aptitudev for association with they doors of a` dump jcar makes it highly advan-` tageous to install it in railway cars of this general ty e wherever the construction of the car w' l permit of its inclusion.

Ballast cars have vdrop doors, an excellent certain new and use-` invention, thqugh I -it is to be understood that the invention is front elevation and as at,

control over which is furnished by the operatingmechanisml herein disclosed, which mechanism is capable of beingunder the control of the operator at all times during the discharge of the load.

Dump car doors that are connected bv chains to thewinding shaft and that dro'pl by `gravity in opening, subject those chains to heavy `disrupting stresses when upon release, they fly open and eometo a sudden lstop as the chainsbecome `fully unwound.

yIn .instances where the doors encounter stops before the chains are completely unwound, the heavy load on the doors tends to cause the latter to'tear'the stops from theiry supporting structure.

lIt'is a purposeof this invention to `ro vide mechanismin which there is a s aft and means connecting the shaft with a series of dumping doors, proper actuation of the shaft causing said means to close the doors or to permit them to open by gravity, according tothe direction of rotation of the shaft. To this end,- means are provided for driving the shaft in one direction to so close the doors, which means may automatically, and by gravity if desired, place itself in non-driving relation to the windin shaft when' the doors are closed, or when t ey are `in the, course of o ening.

Controlled regu ation of the speed of the doors i'nni'ovm" from one osition to the other 1s provi ed for; T ere is, conseuently,` no danger'to the' operator of the oor-operating mechanism. such as is common; =where .the winding shaft is unconl l'trolled in unwinding and revolves rapidly so that the windin i n y means also revolves violently tothe .imminent danger of the operator.

The peculiar arrangement and operation of articulated pawls which are preferably present in the control-means,y furnishes an economical and highly satisfactory shaftretardin means, anda Vdevice is so associated-with these pawls that they'are capable fof preventing unintentional actuation of the shaft, Locking the doors ,in closed position.

Other features of i novelty and merit appear-'ing `hereinafter are ,to be regarded as comlng within Lthe Vspirit and scope of` theV prsept inventioii e eri-ings ec' cal tothe arts 10y re resents the side silll ofyalballagt cai", a sag cient portion of the body of which is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 to clearly indicate the location Of the various parts later referred to.

Somewhat below side sill 10 is located a or winding shaft 11 which extends parallel with side sill 10 for any convenient distance longitudinall of the car. Arranged longitu nally o shaft 11 is a series of dumping ydoors 12, only one such door being shown in Fig. 1. Doors'12 have their outer ends connectcd to winding shaft 11 by chains 13 adapted to bc wound upon Vshaft 11 to draw the doors upwardly into closed position.

At the right hand end of shaft 11 in Figs. 1 and 4, a ratchet wheel 14 is shown as being mounted. 'Said shaft is preferably noncircular at its end as is the aperture in ratchet Wheel 14 through which the shaft passes, thereby insuring that rotation of the ratchet wheel` will cause a like rotation of shaft 11. The outer side of ratchet wheel 14 has projecting therefrom a hub 14 over Y which is slipped a sleeve 27 of an oscillatory member 27 provided at its free end with a socket 27", into which a crowbar or other lever 27c may be inserted by means of which member 27 may be oscillated on the hub 114 of wheel 14. Attached to socket portion 27b of oscillatory member 27 is a pawl 29 mounted upon a pivot pin 28 and there retained by a washer and the outer upset end of said pivot pin 28.4

As best shown in Fig. 5, the lever 27 c may be raised and lowered, and when in its raised position, the pawl 29 will be in the position shown principally in dotted lines in Fig. 5 wherein it bears against one of the teeth of ratchet wheel 14. As lever 27 is moved l downwardl ratchet wheel 14 is given a countercloc wise'rotation, resulting in such a rotation of winding sh'aft 11. Chains 13, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thereupon are wound upon shaft 11 and the doors are raised to their upper or closed positions by the conf tinued oscillation of lever 27.

It will be noted that the end of shaft 11 passes through a bracket 30, the upper end of which is secured to the lower portion of the end sill 10, and in Figs. 3 and 4 it is seen that another bracket or plate 31 is riveted in its upper portion to bracket 30 just below the bottom flange of end sill 10. Bracket or plate 31 is bent vto have a Z- shaped cross section, the portion below the horizontally disposedfintermediate .part of plate 31 being apron-like and of considerable area. Connecting plate-like bracket 30 and the apron portion of plate 31 are pins 17 and 221 which are shown as having thin heads and Shanks passing through both brackets 30 and 31, washers being inserted upon the ends of these' pins which projectl through bracket 30 and cotter pins passing through the pin ends outside of the washers,

' permanently fixing pins 17 and '22 in position. Mounted upon pin 17 and being housed and protected by bracketplates 30 and 31 is a pawl 16 provided with a tooth allet 18 adapted to engage with the teet of ratchet wheel 14. Said pawl 16 is also jaw-shaped near its free end to have a recess 19. p

Pivotally mounted on pin 22 is another pawl 21 which also is provided with a single tooth or pallet 23 intendedto engage with the teeth .of ratchet wheel 14. Pawl 21 has preferably integrally formed there- `vith,a lever or handle 21n rejecting toward the side of the car. igrojeotin in-` wardly in the opposite direction is a nger 20, which, by choice,.is also an integral part of pawl 21. The free end of finger 20 is provided with a rounded lip 19 adapted to enter the recess 19 'in the jaw-shaped portion of pawl 16. It is thus plain that pawls 16 and 21 are articulated 1n such manner that movement of one produces a movement of the other. Such movement is, of course, simultaneous, but the single tooth or pallet of each awl is reversely acting with respect to t at of the other, so that when one pawl tooth is in full engagement with ratchet wheel 14, the other is out of contact therewith. c

Assumin that the doors are opening under the in uence of gravity, and that the locking device of the articulated pawls hereinafter reegred to is in a noneffective osition, it will be understood that the tooth of one of the detents is momentarily in fullA another of the ratchet wheel teeth. In turn,

tooth 18`0f pawl 16 is forced out of engagement with the ratchet wheel by a following tooth thereof and tooth 23 or pawl 21 again vapproaches another tooth of ratchet wheel 14, this alternate and reverse action of the pawls 16 and 21 and their teeth 18 and 23 continuing during the rotation of ratchet wheel 14 as 'the latter responds to the turning of the shaft, whichF is caused' by the doors unwinding the chains-13 as they drop by gravity to their open positions. The teeth or pallets 18 and 23 of pawls 16 and 21 are so spaced that they engage the teeth of ratchet wheel 14 upon said ratchet wheel being moved about one-half the pitch distance of its teeth. Thus the unwinding of chain 13 is accomplished 'in a series of vvery short steps, each of which approximates one-quarter the circular pitch distance ofthe teeth of ratchet wheel 14.

,A feature of the device is the varying relative speed movements of pawl teeth 18 and 23. This feature permits the use of a greater number of teeth in the ratchet wheel than would be possible were the movements of the pawls timed to a constant ratio.

The 4varying ratio in the speed of the Egwls" is brought about by camming `one or th of the interengagmg surfaces 18 and 19 of the respective pawls. In .the` draw ings the interengaging surfaces oi?v both pawls are shown' cammed.

Assuming the load to be discharging, the weight thereof and of thesupporting doors will cause rotation of the shaft ratchet wheel 14. This movement of the ratchet will cause the awl tooth in engagement therewith to be orced outwardly until it clears the ratchet while the other pawl tooth approaches its ratchet engaging position; but

since one ratchet'tooth clears its respective `a limited discharge of the lading contained in the car. The operator may, to accomplish this desired result, press downwardly on handle 21 forcing tooth or pallet 23 of pawl 21 into the space between the two nearest teeth to pallet 23. By holding lever 21. down, ratchet wheel i4,l and consequentl shaft 11 and the doors, will be held from urther movement. Should the o ening of the doors be considered too sma he may raise vhandle 21 of pawl 21 and allow such further rotation as may be considered 'y necessary. Thereafter he may swing the locking dog 24, which is hung upon bolt 26 that passes through and is secured to bracket 30, to the position shown in Fig. 3, after the upper side of handle 21 is which he may, if he desires, walk away from the operating mechanism andthe same will.

be locked against further movement. It will also be understood that when the doors Vare in their fully closed position, tooth 23 of'pawl 21 may be similarly caused to engage-the teeth of ratchet wheel 14 and locking dog 24 positioned as shown 1n Fig. 3, whereupon the doors will be held locked and may so remain while the.4 car is intransit.

Toward the pivoted portion of pawl 21, "ven a peculiar configuration wherein t ere is a curved seat 25 conformed to the curved free end 25 of locking dog 24. When vthe locking dog is in the position shown in Fig.

3, the curved surfaces 25 and 25 of' dog 24 and handle 21, respectively, are concentric with the axis or center ofl rotation of said dog 24. That dog 24 may not pass beyond its locking position, the upper side of handle 21 of pawl 21 is provided with a projection or lug 25".` y V As shown in Fig. 5, when it is desired to operate the articulated pawls 16 and 21,7dog 24 is swung clockwise from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position showt in Fig. 5 whereinit lies andrides upon the' projection'25b of handle 21. 3 to 5'inclusive show that the mechanism for operating'and controlling shaft 11 is compactly arranged, the ratchetwheel 14, oscillatory member 27, thepawl it carries, articulated pawls 16 and 21, and the locking do 24 being so mounted-as to be protected 'y the plate brackets 30 and 31 which constitute a type of housing forthe parts enumerated.. Ratchet wheel` 14, as

shown in Fig. 4, lies on one side of bracket wheel 14 is shown to abut bracket plate 30 'y so as to be incapable of movement toward the. left in that figure. Sleeve 27 of oscillatory member 27 maybe kept from movement toward the right by a washer 32 of greater diameter than .the hub 14 of ratchet 4 wheel 14, a U-shaped keeper 32 embracing shaft 11 outside` of washer 32. The insertion of a cotter pin 33 through keeper 32 and shaft 11 will prevent Withdrawal to ward the right in Fig. 4 of washer 32, hub 14 of ratchet wheel 14 vand sleeve 27 of oscillatory member 27. On the left hand' side of plate bracket 30,1;J washer 34 surrounds shaft 11 and is heldin place by a cotter pin 34 passing through shaft 11. It

is thusseen that all of the parts thatk are directly related to shaft 11, are maintained in correct longitudinal position with reference to the same. t y

The modus operandi is as follows:

The doors having been swung down to their open position, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and'ladinghaving been discharged, said doors may be returned to their closed position by arranging the lookin dog 24, as shown in Fig. 5, so that it wi l-lie against and be adapted to ride on projection 25'of lever 21 of-pawl 21. A suitable lever 27 is then inserted inthe socket 271J to oscillate member 27 and the ylatter is oscillated tol be brought into the raised osition shown infFig. 5. As it approaches t e posi- 13 upon said shaft Thereafter,

, tent.

stroke-of 4lever 27," oscillatory member 27v will assume approximately the position it is tion shown in that thereby will slip between a pair of teethl of ratchet wheel 14 and bear upon what is then the .upper surface of one of said teeth. Said lever 27 is then vibrated up and down, and upon each down stroke it will force 'ratchet wheel 14 counterclockwise to va certain ex- At the completion of each down shown in in Fig. 3, whereupon pawl 29 will by gravity assume the position illustrated in that figure coming entirely out of contact ,with ratchet wheel 14. As oscillatory member 2 7 is again brought back to the position illustrated in' Fig. 5, gravity will inuence pawl 29 so that it will tend to swing toward the teeth of ratchet wheel 14, ultimatelyy slipping between a pair of suchy teeth in assuming its upper position, as shown in Fig. 5.V This operation is continued, ratchet `wheel 14 rotating shaft 11 to which it is fixed, thereby winding thefchains and raising the doors 12 to their upper or ,closed positions.

During this winding operation, the teeth of ratchet vwheel 14 are alternately acting upon. the single teeth of pawls 16 and 2.1 causing them to alternately engage the ratchet wheel teeth and release the same, the articulated connection between pawls 16 and 21 causing their lteeth or pallets to be reversely acting. l

Doors 12 having been brought to their closed positions as-indicated, lever 21 may be pressed downwardly so that tooth 23 of pawl 21 will press against one of the teeth of ratchet wheel 14, as shown in Fig. 3.

from the position shown in Fig. 5 tothat illustrated in Fig. 3 and vsaid pawl 21 will be incapable of retraction from theteeth of ratchet wheel 14. By reason of the artcu-- lated connection between pawls 16 and 21, pawl 16 will be held definitely out o-f-contact with the teeth of ratchet .wheel 14 and both pawls 16 and 21 will be immovable. It

is` also obvious that ratchet wheel 14 can no longer turn while this locked condition prevails, and hence shaft 11 cannot turn to unwind chains 13, doors 12 being securely locked in place as the result. Lever 27 illustrated in Fi 5, ma thenk be withdrawn from the soc et portlon 27" of oscillatory member-27, which oscillatory member will automatically assume the depending position shown in Fig. 3. Pawl 29 `carried by oscillatory member 27 will by .gravlty automatically assumethe position illustrated in Fig. 3 where it is out of contact with ratchet wheel 14. e

The car havin been again loaded and sent to a place w ere the load is to 'be discharged, all that Ais necessary, underordlnary circumstances, to open the doors is to figure,- pawl 29 carried locking dog 24 may be swung of pawl 21 and 24 to the position illusstated, the teeth of ratchet wheel 14- immediately act `upon the individual teeth or pallets of pawls 16 and 21 causing the same to alternately move into and out of contact with. the ratchet wheel teeth. Engagement of the ratchet wheel teeth by either tooth 18 of pawl 16 or tooth 23 of pawl 21, will' check the `rotative action of the ratchet wheel but the latter will operate said pawls so that there will be a continuous but-step-bystep unwinding rotation of shaft 11 until the doors have reached their fully open position. Should it not be desired to fully open the doors, the operator may,"atany time during the courseof their opening,

press Vdown on lever 2la of pawl 21 and thereafter position lockingy dog 24as illustrated in Fig. 3.x The parts will then be in the position depicted 1n that ligure and shaft l1 will be held against further. rotation, tending to allow the doors to open.

It is therefore manifest that said doors "may be regulated not only as tothe speed at which they may open, but also to the de; grec of opening they permit. This is useful when it is desired to distribute the load i 'I u along a roadbed, only such amount of lading allowed to escape at one point as may be esired. Furthermore, any amount of lading maybe discharged at a single point, or all of the lading may be once.

What I claimA is:

1. In combination in a car or other structure, a door and door operating mechanism comprising a winding shaft, means connecting said shaft to said door, a device mounted for actuation with said shaft, `means co er- *acting members alternately co-active with said device tore late its action.

3. In combination in a car-orother structure, a door and operating mechanism therefor com rising a windin shaft, means re- '.sponsivey connecting sald shaft and door, a ratchet wheel secured to said shaft, more he weight of the doors,

asl

discharged, at

than two pawls adapted to engage the teeth ofl said ratchet wheel, some of said pawls having separate fulcrums and being reversely operable to alternately engage the ratchet wheel teeth, said ratchet wheel being adapted to be pawl-driven while the reverscly operable pawls are acting.

4. In combination in mechanism of the class described, a winding shaft, a ratchet Wheel secured thereto, a member free to turn about said shaft, a pawl carried thereby,

means with which to turn said member,

said awl being adapted to drive said ratchet whee, a plurality of articulated reverselyacting pawls responsive to said ratchet wheel and means for independently controlling silidf articulated pawls and consequently sai s a t.

class described, a winding shaft, a ratchet wheel fixedly secured thereto, a member revolubly mounted on said wheel, a pawl operable by said member to drive said wheel, and

a plurality of simultaneously operable Separate ratchet wheel-retardin pawls effecting a stepby-step rotation of said wheel.

6. n combination in a mechanism of the class described, a ratchet wheel, a shaft passing through and beyond the same, a

member mounted to turn about said shaft, a non-shaft-surroundin shaft-embracing keeper. secured to said s aft retaining said member, a wheel-driving pawl carried by said member and a plurality of articulated pawls operable one by the other to alternately coperate with said ratchet wheel and eifect a step-by-step rotation thereof.

7. In combination in a mechanism of the class described, a suitably `supported bracket, a winding shaft havin a bearing therein, a ratchet wheel adapte to turn with said shaft, means for driving said wheel in one direction, separately formed pawls, individual bracket-supported fulcrums therefor and means so connecting said pawls that they engage and disengage said wheel one after the other and effect a step-hy-step rotative control thereof.

8. In combination in a mechanism of the class described, a suitably supported bracket, a shaft passing through the same to extend from opposite sides thereof, a ratchet wheel mounted on said shaft at one side of said bracket to turn with said shaft, a member adjacent said wheel adapted to turn about saidshaft, a wheeldriving pawl carried by said member means co-actin with -said bracket, member and shaft to eep the last three mentioned elements and said wheel in coperative relation and articulated pawls 4:zo-acting with said wheelfor a step-by-step control ofsaid shaft.

i 9; Incombination in a mechanism vof the class described, al suitabl supported wind'-,`

ing shaft, a .ratchet whee secured theretoto comprising means for effect' turn therewith, a lever-receiving oscillatory 'class described, a windin shaft, a ratchet wheelrotatable therewit ,an oscillatory 'lor member revoluble about the shaft, a ratchety wheel-driving pawl carried-by said member caused by movement of the latter to automatically engage and disengage said ratchet wheel at appropriate times, and step-byfstep.. control mechanism comprising separate'mem--l bers operable one'from the other 'to alternately co-act with said ratchet wheel. 5. In combination in a mechanism of the `operable to co-act with said ratchet wh 12. In combination in a mechanism of the class described, 'a shaft, a ratchet wheel rotatable therewith, means adapted to `co-act with said ratchet wheel to actuate said shaft' and a shaft-rotationcontrol mechanism comprising a, plurality of separately mounted pawls arranged to co-act with said ratchet wheel, means causing said pawls to boogi- ,erable one from the other, and means which an'operator may regulate the action of said ,control mechanism at will.

13. In combination in acar, a sill, a door and operating and controlling mechanism therefor comprising abracket secured to said sill, a winding shaft operable -means connect 'said shaft and rotata 1e with. said shaft,means for driving saidv shaft. and ratchet wheel in one direc-'- tion, said shaft and Wheel bein op ositely door, a ratchet wheel v operablel by said door, artic late .pawls separately mounted on said bracket coperaf tive withsaid `ratchet'wheelin either of its.

directions of movement to render such movement a--step-by-step action, one pawl being provided: with a lever, and means adapted to co-act with said lever to lock said mechal i 120 14; In combination 'in' a car, a door and opnism.

erating and controlling mechanismv therefor andclosing of said doorinclu g a ratchet wheel, a plurality of separatql Y mounted pawl's one beingl rovided wi a lever, means ca pawlstohavesimultaneous movementgfsaid'f ',awls; being adapted to alternately check-an release said ratchet "wheel during its rotation and means coperathe opening- "i ist iso f tive with said lever at will to lock said paw'ls and ratchet wheel against movement.

15. In combination in a mechanism of the class described, a shaft, means for rotating the same, a ratchet wheel fixed on said shaft, a pawl adapted to engage and disengage the ratchet wheel teeth and having a lever, and

a pivotally mounted locking dog adapted to engage said lever to causeV said pawl to lock said ratchet wheel against movement, said *dog andleve'r having inutual engagement portions concentric with the pivotal axis of said dog when said paw-l is locking'said ratchet wheel.

16. In combination in a mechanism of the class described, a shaft, means for-rotating the same, a ratchet wheel fixed on said shaft, a ratchet wheel-engaging-and-disengaging pawl provided with a lever, a pivotalljr mounted locking dog, said dog and lever having mutual engagement ortions adapted to be arranged concentrica y to the pivotal axis of said'dog t0 cause sald pawl to lock said ratchet wheel against movement, and a stop for said dog on said lever, the dog being adapted to ride on said stop to permit the rotation of said ratchet wheel.

17. In combination in a mechanism of thehand.

GEORGE C. CHERBONNIER. 

